Canada's most beloved pastry — flaky tart shells filled with a gooey brown sugar butter filling, with or without raisins.
Butter tarts are arguably Canada's greatest culinary contribution to the world — small, individually portioned pastry tarts filled with a filling of brown sugar, butter, egg, and syrup that bakes into a gloriously gooey, caramelised, slightly runny centre inside a crisp, flaky shell. Every Canadian family has a position on the great debate: runny or firm filling, and raisins or no raisins. The tarts appear in church bake sales, fall fairs, and Christmas boxes across the country.
Serves 12
Rub cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add ice water tablespoon by tablespoon until dough just comes together. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Roll pastry thin. Cut circles and press into a 12-cup muffin tin. Refrigerate lined tins while making filling.
Whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, syrup, vanilla and vinegar until smooth. If using raisins, divide among tart shells first.
Pour filling into each pastry shell, filling 2/3 full — the filling puffs up during baking.
Bake at 200°C for 15–18 minutes until filling is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the centre. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing — filling firms as it cools.
The vinegar is the secret — it balances the sweetness and keeps the filling from being cloying.
For runny filling, remove at 15 minutes. For firmer, bake the full 18.
The filling bubbles and may overflow — place a baking sheet under the muffin tin.
Add pecans or walnuts instead of (or alongside) raisins.
Make a chocolate butter tart by adding 1 tbsp cocoa powder to the filling.
Store at room temperature for 3 days, refrigerate for 1 week. The pastry softens after a day — best eaten fresh.
The first printed Canadian butter tart recipe appeared in 1900 in the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital cookbook in Barrie, Ontario. The tart is believed to have evolved from Quebec cuisine's traditional sugar pies and fudge-like confections brought by early settlers.
This is genuinely one of Canada's great debates with no right answer. Raisins provide texture and tartness; plain filling gives a cleaner caramel hit. Make both and decide.
Per serving · 12 servings total
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